Multipurpose Poly(dimethylsiloxane) Dielectric Films with Superb Thermal Conductivity by Incorporating Silver Nanoparticle-Decorated Boron Nitride Nanosheets
Junwen Ren, Zi Wang, Zi Wang, Guoqing Jiang, Yuchao Li, Zhong Wang, Zhong Wang, Lihua Zhao, Shenli Jia
Abstract
Thermally conductive dielectric materials hold the potential to revolutionize thermal management. It is highly desirable yet challenging to develop materials with high thermal conductivity (λ), low dielectric loss, and superb flexibility due to the different or even mutually exclusive physical connotations of these properties. This study presents a novel composite film composed of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) and silver nanoparticle (AgNP)-decorated with boron nitride nanosheets (BNNS@Ag). In the composite, the uniform and well-dispersed two-dimensional (2D) BNNS are connected by in situ incorporated zero-dimensional (0D) AgNPs, establishing an efficient phonon transport network. The resulting BNNS@Ag/PDMS composite boasts an impressive λ of 3.77 W/m·K, which is approximately 13.6 and 36.6% higher than those of the BNNS/PDMS and h-BN/PDMS composite films, respectively, and nearly four times that of the pure PDMS films. Additionally, the wide band gap of BNNS effectively suppresses electron transport, endowing BNNS@Ag/PDMS with a low dielectric constant (∼4.01, at 10 3 Hz) and low loss (∼0.003), as well as a high dielectric breakdown strength (124.68 kV/mm). The findings of this study provide a roadmap for designing high-performance PDMS composites to meet the thermal management needs of advanced electronic devices.